Record £30m paid for DFS sofa

A DFS sofa has been sold at Sotheby's to an unknown buyer for a record £30m.

The sofa, discovered in a neglected state in the front garden of a house in Barnsley, is believed to have been bought by a wealthy Japanese collector of fine furniture.

A Sotheby's spokeswoman said: 'The sofa had been in the garden for some time and was thought to be just a Chippendale until a council refuse collector recognized the distinctive DFS signature. It's s real find.'

A rusty clapped-out fridge discovered in the same garden and to be auctioned next week, is expected to set a new world record for a Zanussi.

Like it. Mainly because it reminded me of one of mine from, oh, waaay back... (before the introduction of the '£' sign).

Chipboard bookcase nets GBP2.6m at Sotheby’s

The world of antique furniture was turned upside down tonight following the sale of a cheap 1990s Ikea flat pack for a record sum. Lot 22, described in the catalogue as ‘a self-assembly beech effect particle board bookcase with sagging shelves and two missing shelf pegs’, sold for GBP3m to a private bidder, Sotheby’s press officer revealed.

‘It was quite a pleasant shock,’ said former owner of the bookcase, Antoine Detroit. ‘I’d always been confident that the bookcase was a sound investment, but I hadn’t anticipated it would appreciate quite that much in value. I think I paid GBP9.99 when I bought it.’

Lot 23 in the auction was equally surprising. ‘This was a solid oak Jacobean dresser, circa 1610, being sold on behalf of the Royal Family,’ said the press officer, ‘but it failed to reach its reserve, with the highest bid at 58p. Allen key missing, apparently, and no instructions. They going to have trouble putting that back together.’

I once bought a DFS sofa. It was interest free credit but I didn't have to start paying until 2042, it had a 100 year warranty and I get a free replacement every year and one for all my family and friends plus a holiday, a car and £50,000 spending money. Marvellous.